Kirby's Adventure is a platforming video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. Kirby's Adventure was the second and last game to use Kirby's original design, albeit in color (the first to use the design was Kirby's Dream Land).
After Kirby wakes up from his after-lunch nap without having any dreams, he goes to the Fountain of Dreams to investigate. In doing so, he discovers that King Dedede has stolen the Star Rod, the source of power to the Fountain of Dreams, and broken it into seven pieces, giving six fragments to his allies, Whispy Woods, Paint Roller, Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright, Kracko, Heavy Mole, and Meta Knight, also keeping one for himself. Without the Star Rod, all of the inhabitants of Dream Land are becoming restless and unable to dream. Kirby decides to track down the fragments of the Star Rod and bring them back to the Fountain of Dreams in order to restore everyone's dreams.
Kirby travels throughout seven worlds, battling enemies, mini-bosses, and bosses through treacherous terrain in order to collect all seven fragments of the Star Rod. Once Kirby defeats King Dedede and rebuilds the Star Rod (with Dedede strangely begging him not to), he places it back into the Fountain of Dreams. However, an ominous black aura fills the skies as a dark creature, named Nightmare, emerges from the fountain. It turns out that Nightmare had corrupted the fountain, and King Dedede removed the Star Rod, broke it, and spread it across Dream Land with the intention of protecting Dream Land. Nightmare then speedily flies off into space, but rather than allowing him to escape, King Dedede inhales Kirby and the Star Rod and spits them into the air, projecting Kirby towards Nightmare. Kirby then uses the Star Rod to defeat both forms of Nightmare, and saves Dream Land once again.
The end sequence shows Kirby and King Dedede flying together and reconciling, while scrolling text explains the aftermath of Nightmare's defeat, before the end credits roll, and Kirby waving the player goodbye after, while flying away on a Warp Star, breaking the fourth wall in the process.
Like the majority of Kirby video games, Kirby's Adventure is a platformer. The game consists of seven worlds, each containing a set of regular levels, a boss fight, and a Warp Star door (which enables Kirby to travel from world to world). Most worlds also contain mini-games (which allow Kirby to gain extra lives), museums (which allow Kirby to gain certain powers), and/or Arenas (where Kirby must battle with a mini-boss to win health items and allow him to copy the boss' special ability afterwards). The game was the first in the series to include a save feature. It automatically saves the player's progress after each level.
The objective of each main level is simply to reach the end of the level. If Kirby touches an enemy or a dangerous object, he takes a point of damage, and if all of his hit points are lost or he falls off the bottom of the screen, the player loses a life. Kirby can touch or eat food items to immediately replenish health or gain temporary invulnerability.
Kirby can walk, run, jump, and he can attack and dodge enemies by slide-tackling. He can also fly by inflating himself, and is able to reach any height that isn't blocked by an obstacle. While flying, Kirby cannot use his other abilities, but he can exhale at any time, releasing a puff of air that can be used to damage enemies or destroy blocks.
Kirby's main ability allows him to inhale indefinitely, sucking nearby enemies and objects into his mouth. Once inhaled, objects remain in his mouth until he either spits them out (dealing damage to enemies and objects in front of him) or swallows them. Upon swallowing certain enemies, Kirby immediately 'copies' any special abilities that the enemy possesses, giving him access to a wide variety of powers, some of which may be needed to solve various puzzles. Usually, Kirby cannot inhale anything while he has use of a special ability, but he can 'drop' the ability at any time (this happens automatically whenever he takes damage), sending it bouncing behind him as a star for a short time. Kirby can regain the ability by inhaling and swallowing the star before it disappears.